For a Resilient Rockaways Design Competition Announces White Arkitekter as Winner

The winner of the "<a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/four-finalists-selected-in-far-roc-competition-to-design-storm-resistant-rockaway-housing/">For a Resilient Rockaway</a>" (FAR ROC) <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/for-a-resilient-rockaway-asks-architects-and-designers-for-sustainable-plans-for-sandy-ravaged-queens/">design competition</a> has finally been decided and the grand prize went to <a href="http://www.white.se/en/">White Arkitekter</a> for its simple and thoughtful design. The Swedish team won the competition with their “Small Means &amp; Great Ends” concept to re-design an 80-acre Arverne East portion of the Rockaways into a resilient waterfront development. <a href="http://ennead.com/">Ennead Architects</a>, <a href="http://lateraloffice.com/">Lateral Office</a>, and <a href="http://www.seedingoffice.com/">Seeding Office</a> also earned top spots among the total 117 entries from 20 countries. But in the end, White Arkitekter won out as the FAR ROC jury favorite for its small and affordable but smart vision of a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/6-smart-flood-resilient-home-designs-seen-at-nyits-3c-comprehensive-coastal-communities-exhibit/">more storm-resilient</a> Rockaways.

Small Means &amp; Great Ends design originated from the philosophy to introduce a plan that incorporates small changes that are adaptable, feasible, affordable and smart.

For starters to help protect the coastline, White Arkitekter proposed building unobtrusive <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/east-river-blueway-now-includes-plan-for-urban-beach-and-storm-surge-barrier/">storm surge buffers</a> by using natural <a href="http://inhabitat.com/spectacular-green-roofed-house-built-right-into-a-sand-dune-wants-a-buyer/">sandbanks</a>.

At the same time to build a stronger community it would also introduce more affordable housing interconnected by <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/public-space/">public spaces</a>.

The concept also includes a number of new neighborhood centers including a community center as well as another for conferences and learning. The most interesting architectural structure of the proposal is to build an Arverne East Center to provide commercial space for everything including a hotel, cinema, and sports facilities.

Besides White Arkitekter’s concept the other finalists are more than worth mentioning. <a href="http://www.ennead.com">Ennead Architects</a>’ Fostering Resilient Ecological Development (F.R.E.D.) utilizes a “whole systems” cross-disciplinary approach to combine multiple systems.

It uses dunes to as an <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/the-east-river-blueway-project-goes-foward-with-8-million-in-the-bank/">affordable and effective means</a> of protecting the coast. Meanwhile elevated sidewalks designed after the coastal area’s piers and boardwalks would keep the community connected in the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/new-report-says-climate-change-may-actually-steer-future-superstorms-away-from-nyc-but-flooding-remains-an-issue/">event of a flood</a>.

The most striking change of the plan would redevelop the Rockaway’s current spread out residential layout into tighter knit group of housing clusters like apartments to allow more areas for plants to grow as soft flood resilient infrastructure.

In an effort to retain Rockaway’s original aesthetic, <a href="http://www.lateraloffice.com">Lateral Office</a>’s design revisits the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/vancouver-renovation-turns-a-50s-bungalow-into-a-modern-efficient-home/">bungalow typology</a> and re-envisions the relationship between city and beachscape.

The Lateral Office plans to embrace the community’s individual housing identity by revising the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/all-the-buildings-in-new-york-is-a-delightful-collection-of-drawings-illustrating-ny-architecture/">diversity of household types</a> to include single family, multi-unit, and mixed-use with ground floor commercial.

Aside from redeveloping new houses the project would also introduce basins to provide environmental resiliency against flooding and a network of boardwalks.

Finally, the Far Rockaway proposal presented by the <a href="http://www.seedingoffice.com">Seeding Office</a> would implements the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/four-finalists-selected-in-far-roc-competition-to-design-storm-resistant-rockaway-housing/">iconic and over-arching boardwalk</a> as its central design element.

The project would extend the boardwalk as a cohesive urban fabric connecting the urban and natural elements of Arverne East.

The boardwalk would weave from the beach to residential neighborhoods, commercial development, and even link up directly with mass transportation hubs.